First Council of Nicaea

The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of bishops of the Christian church, held in 325 AD at the Roman city of Nicaea in Bithynia, Asia Minor. Emperor Constantine the Great, a convert to Christianity, was persuaded to summon a conference of Christian bishops to adopt the first uniform Christian doctrine, and, while 1,000 eastern bishops and 800 western bishops were invited, only 250-320 bishops attended. They settled the divine nature of Jesus as "God the Son" in relation to "God the Father", the construction of the first part of the Nicene Creed, establishing uniform observance of the date of Easter, and promulgation of early canon law. However, the council caused dispute over the powers of the Bishop of Rome; Catholics believed that the Bishop of Rome's confirmation of the idea of Christ's deity (which gave the Council its influence and authority) meant that all churches had to agree with Rome. However, Protestants and Orthodox Christians believed that the bishop was simply just one of many influential leaders at the Council, but not the one who had jurisdiction over the other bishops at the meetings (as the Bishop was representing his own see in Rome, not leading the whole church). Members of the LDS Church and other Mormon denominations believe that, since there was no prophet to receive revelation, the church instead turned to deciding issues in a council, and that, "The truth that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct beings and that They have separate roles was lost."

Decisions

 * The council adopted the Nicene Creed, which confirmed Jesus' divinity, asserted Jesus' co-eternalness with God, and confirmed that he came from the substance of the Father, rebuking Arianism's belief that Jesus was separate from, and lesser than, God.
 * Easter had to be celebrated during Jewish Passover, when Jesus was crucified, and Easter took Passover's place on the Christian calendar.
 * The members of the Council decided that the schism leader Meletius should not be able to ordain any more priests, sending him to Lycopolis and forbidding him to leave.
 * The council then promulgated twenty new laws for the Church:
 * 1: Prohibition of self-castration
 * 2: Establishment of a minimum term for catechumens (people studying for baptism)
 * 3: Prohibition of the presence in the house of a cleric a younger woman who might arouse suspicion
 * 4: Ordination of a bishop in the presence of at least three provincial bishops and confirmation by the metropolitan bishop
 * 5: Provision for two provincial synods to be held annually
 * 6: Confirmation of the granting of large regions to the bishops of Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch
 * 7: Recognition of the honorary rights of the see of Jerusalem
 * 8: Provision for agreement with the Novationists
 * 9-14: Provision for mild procedure against the lapsed during the persecution under Licinius
 * 15-16: Prohibition of the removal of priests
 * 17: Prohibition of usury among the clergy
 * 18: Precedence of bishops and presbyters before deacons in receiving Holy Communion
 * 19: Declaration of the invalidity of baptism by Paulian heretics
 * 20: Prohibition of kneeling on Sundays during the Pentecost (the 50 days before Easter); standing is the normative posture for prayer